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And they called it puppy love
Yoga lovers and dog lovers came out the support Mdzananda Animal Clinic Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog yoga event which was held in De Waal Park in Gardens , Cape Town. The event aims to raise funds for the NPO animal hospital but mainly aims to introduce people to pets needing homes. Mdzananda experienced an enormous influx of homeless pets during the festive season.
Image:
Esa Alexander

Six things about SA you need to know

Cyril must intervene in Zim or else: DA

The Democratic Alliance has threatened to approach the International Criminal Court if President Cyril Ramaphosa fails to intervene directly to stop the ongoing human rights violations by the Zimbabwean government. The DA called on Ramaphosa on Sunday to reconsider his “quiet diplomacy 2.0” and advise Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa to stop the military clampdown on civilians. If Ramaphosa failed to do so, the DA would be left with no option but to approach the ICC to consider a preliminary investigation into these violations as outlined in the Rome Statute, the party. “The DA strongly believes that the human rights crisis currently obtaining in Zimbabwe is of sufficient gravity to warrant an ICC investigation because, according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, at least 12 people have been killed, 78 shot at and 240 faced assault, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment,” said Stevens Mokgalapa, the DA’s international relations and co-operation spokesman.

‘Coligny eyewitness lied about race attack’

The only eyewitness in the Coligny murder trial against two white men convicted for throwing a teenager from a bakkie has apparently admitted he lied, according to a report in Sunday’s Rapport newspaper. The paper said it had access to a recording where Bonakele Pakisi says he lied when he testified against Pieter Doorewaard, 27, and Phillip Schutte, 34, who will soon be sentenced for the murder of Matlhomola Moshoeu, 16, in April 2017. His killing plunged the North West town into turmoil, with racial tensions causing chaos. Shops were plundered and buildings were set alight after Moshoeu was caught and killed by the two white men for stealing sunflowers. But now a preacher from a town in Mahikeng, Paul Morule, has told Rapport that Pakisi had admitted to him he had lied and that he could no longer stay silent about it.

Bethal runs dry after council fails to pay bill

The taps ran dry in Bethal, Mpumalanga, in December when Rand Water Board reduced water pressure by 40% for non-payment of an R87.7m back-bill owed by the Govan Mbeki Municipality. More than half the town is reckoned to be without water. Residents are furious because they have paid their water bills, and want to know what the municipality has done with the money. Many suspect corruption is at the root of the problem. Last Wednesday, students at the Jim van Tonder School in Bethal were sent home because there was no water for showering, toilets or drinking. The town’s abattoir has also shut down. No comment from the mayor was received by the time of publication. Local businesses and residents have stepped up, delivering bowsers and trucks of water to different parts of the town.

Schools push for MEOs to get 100% pass rate

Gcewu High School's 100% pass rate in last year's matric exams seems like a great achievement. But a closer look at the numbers of the school, in KwaMahleka in Pietermaritzburg, turns this picture around, as only four of its 46 matriculants wrote the whole exam. The other 42, all progressed pupils, were encouraged to write the exams over two sittings, in October/November 2018 and June 2019. Progressed pupils are those pushed into matric after failing grade 11 twice. Education experts this week criticised the multiple examinations opportunity (MEO) system, saying schools were using it to inflate their pass rate by encouraging weaker pupils to "modularise", or write the exams over two years. The results of only those pupils who write all six subjects at one sitting are used to calculate a school's pass rate.

ANC brass named in US fraud probe

ANC bigwigs scored millions of rand from a botched broadband project for the City of Johannesburg while its costs more than doubled to nearly R1.7bn. Police are investigating the possibility of fraud and corruption in the contracts, which involve multinational telecommunications giant Ericsson, and the US department of justice has also shown an interest in the case. A report by Nexus Forensic Services and affidavits by city officials allege that mismanagement and deception compromised the project to provide Johannesburg with cheap broadband services. The report says public service & administration minister Ayanda Dlodlo, deputy defence and military veterans minister Kebby Maphatsoe and former diplomat Lerema Kekana were directors of the BEE partner involved, CitiConnect Communications (CCC). Though the report does not attribute specific wrongdoing to the three, it contains allegations about CCC, Ericsson and its local arm Ericsson SA (ESA).

Staff raise cash for ‘missing middle’ students

For University of Johannesburg students who don’t qualify for a National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) grant, hope comes in the form of a cash injection from the university's Missing Middle fundraising campaign, which began three years ago. SA universities have long explored third-stream income sources. But it was #FeesMustFall that propelled many to explore new financial avenues to help financially strapped students, with some staff members dipping into their own pockets. UJ's fund has successfully raised more than R195m to support students in 2018. At the University of the Western Cape, more than 340 employees pledged to donate to a staff fund called Access to Success, run by the alumni office. Last year staff raised more than R140,000 for students in need. High-achieving students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal are also receiving a helping hand, thanks to initiatives by the institution's foundation - its official fundraising arm.

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6 things you need to know about the world

Posh sad to be skipping Spice Girls tour

Victoria Beckham has admitted that she will feel ‘left out’ when her former band the Spice Girls go on a UK tour later this year. The fashion designer, 44, even ruled out a cameo appearance as a hologram during the 2019 Spice Girls Tour, which takes place between May 27 and June 15. When asked about potential involvement in the tour, the former Posh Spice said: ‘No definitely not’ and added it had not even been a hard decision to make. ‘What I do now is my passion and a full-time job.' - The Sunday Telegraph

El Chapo escaped stark naked, says mistress

A Mexican former politician and mistress of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman told his trial how she escaped through a drainage tunnel with the naked drug lord before his capture in 2014. Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez broke down as she testified before a New York jury. In February 2014, as security forces closed in on his house in Culiacán, Guzman led her to a bathroom where the bath was lifted with hydraulics to expose a trap door leading to a tunnel. He ‘was naked’, Sanchez said. ‘He took off running. He left us behind.’ - The Daily Telegraph

Now you can have your very own meteor shower

A Japanese company plans to stage the world's first artificial meteor shower after a rocket carrying its technology was launched into space. Astro Live Experiences has developed a microsatellite which can create ‘shooting stars on demand’. Perfected during seven years of laboratory work, the satellite contains 400 tiny glowing balls made from a secret chemical formula, which can be unleashed to light up skies in as many as 30 space entertainment shows. The company plans to target ‘the whole world’ with its celestial show. - The Daily Telegraph

World’s oldest man dies at 113

‘World's oldest man’ Masazo Nonaka, who was born just two years after the Wright brothers launched humanity's first powered flight, died on Sunday aged 113. Nonaka was born in July 1905, according to Guinness World Records - just months before Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. ‘We feel shocked at the loss of this big figure. He was as usual yesterday and passed away without causing our family any fuss at all,’ his granddaughter said. Nonaka had six brothers and one sister, marrying in 1931 and fathering five children. - AFP

Patients killed by pigeon poo infection

Two Glasgow patients have died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings at a hospital. Control measures were immediately put in place after the two cases of cryptococcus were detected. Authorities said a likely source was found in a non-public area away from wards and the droppings had been removed. – The Daily Telegraph

Tree Man’s bark is growing again

A Bangladeshi father dubbed ‘Tree Man’ for the bark-like growths on his body returned to hospital on Sunday after his condition worsened. Abul Bajandar has had 25 surgeries since 2016 to remove the growths from his hands and feet. Doctors were on the verge of declaring their treatment a success before a sudden relapse prompted Bajandar to flee the clinic in May without notifying staff. But on Sunday he was readmitted to the hospital after his condition deteriorated, with the growths now covering almost the entirety of his hands and feet, the 28-year-old said. – AFP

BRONZE FOR PEACE
The Peace Monument symbolising Korean sex slaves from the second world war in Seoul.
Image:
Lee Jae-Won/AFLO